Day 109-110 The first and second days of the cruise

Soaring high above the clouds in Australia.  It was much prettier up here as down below it was raining.  I love flying when it's like this.

We set sail from Brisbane and made our way away from the rain to coastal areas that were sunny.  The mountains we constantly around us for the first half of the trip, it was really neat seeing them off in the distance.

A gorgeous sunset descending over Australia.  The first day we were pretty much just getting to know the ship and the different decks. It was pretty easy to get lost on the ship hahaha, good thing it never sank!

The second day was bright and sunny.  Nothing but blue ocean and an endless view of the horizon.  We sunbathed and relaxed and took advantage of the all you could eat buffet which was open almost 24/7.

During midday, Ally and I did a martini taste testing seminar.  The first martini was the original which was absolutely disgusting.  I will probably never order one again in my life.  The second one was apple flavored, followed by a melon flavored, and to finish off we had a rasberry cream martini.  By the way we had about 45 minutes to drink these drinks.  We were having fun by the end of that 45 minutes!

Not many people can say they have seen the moon rise into the night sky from the horizon.  We had perfect conditions to watch the moon rise.  No land was in the way of our view and the sun's light was not strong enough to keep the moon out of sight. 

On the other side of the ship, we watching the sun set.  It was a beautiful red and orange color.  Those dots are some islands along the coast.

It was cocktail night so we had to dress with some class.  Ally always makes me look bad, haha, she looked really beautiful in her dress.

Day 106, Hunter Valley

Waiting for an early train to start our trip to Hunter Valley for some wine tasting!

On the bus to Hunter Valley, this is what north of Sydney looks like--very pretty drive.

The first place we went to was called Savannah's. Here we got to taste 12 different wines. Out of the three places we went to, this was probably my (Ally's) least favorite. We had to stand the whole time, it was a little crowded, and the woman didn't give us a lot of time in between glassses--felt the buzz. We spent the least amount of time here and drank the most wine.

A picture of the brochure.

Bobb'in for cheap wine aka clearskin

Wished we could have sat outside!

Learning how to tell if it's good wine.  The clearer and brighter the better.  Smoother taste

Ally outside Savannahs.

The  next place was called Iron Gate Estates.  The guy was a retired CEO of a chemical company.  He was super rich and was talking like money was growing on trees.  We tasted six wines here.  It was both of our favorites.  The wine was excellent and he gave us chocolate.

This is new and state of the art technology for pressing grapes to make wine. 

After visiting that place to taste some wine, we went and got lunch.  It was really really good.  I wish I had gotten Ally's BLT.

After that we tasted some cheese and stuff which was nice but we were really looking forward to the third place because the last two had been outstanding.

A few of the dessert wines we tasted, they were really good.  It was a mix of champagne texture with the sweetness of white wine.  A very nice way to finish the day.

Don't worry Mom, I got my papers finished that I needed to hand in by the weekend before the cruise.  Doing work on the train was actually a good way to pass the time.

Day 103, My Birthday

Ally knows me too well and decided my birthday dinner should be dessert!  So we found this place called scoops for some waffles and ice cream.  I had vanilla with fresh strawberries and the waffles had cinnamon mixed in with them.  Delicious.  There isn't much to say about the following photos other than they are with people that I have become really good friends with and have been lucky enough to have gotten to know.

Rylan and I enjoying are meal.  He's been around since the very beginning of my stay.  I can't thank him enough for all the times I have gotten to go to his house and have fun.

A rainbow emerged for my birthday lucky me.  That stadium is Wollongong's very own rugby stadium.

From left to right: Jack, Rylan, Jesse, Doug, and me.  These guys are my closest guy friends here.  Max isn't pictured but he is also one of my best friends here as well.  Made many good memories with these boys: ping pong, surfing, beach, drinking, being immature haha, it's been fun!

After dinner we predrank, it's not called pregaming in Australia; doesn't make sense I know, but according to Australia's ways, we were 'predrinking'.

The first place we went to was Abbey's nightclub, which we were the only ones there so we had a good time.  It was like my own private party at the place haha. After that, we went across the street to the Harp where it was karaoke night.  Ally got up with the girls and sang Journey's "Don't Stope Believing"  She did wonderfully.

So here are more people that I have gotten to know.  Again left to right: Matt, Emily, Cecilia, Ally, Jesse, Kristin's friend, Doug, Kristin, Jack's girlfriend, Rylan, Jack, Kaela, and you guessed it me.  

Who doesn't feel confident after a while of drinking??? well, Max and I got up there and sang our redition of the Police's "Roxanne" Jesse was supposed to join us but I don't know what happened.  Anyway I sang my heart out probably to a disturbed crowd, luckily Max actually has talent and covered for me.  I just remember doing the back up vocals haha

Anyway at the end of the night, in honor of my birthday, Jesse, Rylan, and Max grabbed me and we had a group hug and sang along to....God only knows what, but it was awesome and a great birthday.

Day 102, Day 2 in Sydney

To put it mildly, our stay in the hotel could have been better. I slept 4 and a half hours and I think Ally pulled an all-nighter. Some people are just too loud and trying to sleep above a club is a really hard thing to do.

At the very center of Sydney's classiest place called the Rocks, we found a memorial to ANZAC which was the Australian New Zealand Army Core.  World War I means everything to Australian history because it was their coming out party.

We got beautiful weather and the sun was shining.  I thought this was a cool reflection of the city.

Ally by the fountains

One of the older buildings in the city.  Quite beautiful in architecture and design.

Ally was really tired and at this point all she wanted was to find a spot to eat her muffin.  I was just trying to find a nice place to eat but anywhere would have suited Ally at this point haha.

Poor Ally, looking like a zombie in this picture haha, but I had to get one with the skyline in the background.

Ally and the Opera House!!!! She made it to the trademark symbol of the city!!!

The Sydney Harbor Bridge

The Cliche couples photo with the Opera House

Ally in the Botannical Gardens with the skyline in the background, a very beautiful picture.

To end the day we walked to Kings Cross but along the way we found this beautiful picture of the skyline.  It had been a long night so we cut the day in half and went back to the campus for a nap.  It was well needed but a very good two days in Sydney!!!

Day 101, Sydney Tower, Sydney Aquarium, Bar hopping

I was especially excited for today because this was the trademark city that defines Australia and Ally would get to experience Sydney.

We emerged from the train station to a pink monorail train.  I thought that was pretty cool.

At the very center of Sydney there is a tower that is part of the main skyline that you can walk around and get a 360 vision of the city.  This is on the way up. Before going up to the top they play a short video about five minutes long showcasing all Sydney has to offer.  and it was IN 4-D...sweet.

A view of Darling Harbor from top the Westfield Tower.

 signs for sale

A view of the city, King's Cross,  Wollowoona Bay, the stadiums, etc.

After the tower we spent the majority of the afternoon at Darling Harbor.

We went to the aquarium, Ally really wanted to see an Australian animal so what better way than to go to an aquarium where there is a platypus.

Some cool jellyfish

This is by far the biggest crab I have ever seen in person.  That thing was huge.  I think it was a Japanese Spider Crab, not sure but I know it's nickname...the Japanese call it Crabzilla.

Some sharks!

After the aquarium we walked around the harbor and it was happy hour!! So we got some cheap drinks and looked out over the harbor and the best part was they were handing out free finger food.  Ally and I then went to the Hard Rock Cafe where we got to eat some chicken tenders. 

The Hard Rock Cafe is connected to a small mini mall so Ally and I walked through there looking at stuff but I was mostly attracted to the food hahaha.  We walked through the mini mall and on the other side was a cool looking bar with cheap drinks so we went inside there.

Well, my stomach got the better side of me. 

It was justified, limited time only I had to try it.  It had pineapple, slice of beet, bacon, barbaque sauce, onions, and of course deliciousness.  Plus I had to honor the Olympics.

At the third bar we went to, everybody was buying these drinks called scary jars and they looked cool.  But when I asked how much they were the price was too high, 10 bucks a pop.  So I went up there with my 2 for 1 coupon thinking I was getting just two beers for 4 dollars which is pretty sweet.  I looked over at Ally and winked at her, but I think the guy standing next to me thought I winked at him.  So he put a hand on my shoulder and said, "bartender, make sure this guy has a good night," and he turned to me and said, "whadda you want?"  Well, Uncle Scott, your advice to wink at guys actually works.  So to dispell any misconceptions or perhaps an advance, I said, " noooooo you don't have to do that and I would rather you buy my girlfriend a drink over there," hahaha.  He looked at me and said, "Then I'll buy two drinks, one for you and your girl. You don't understand I'm the general manager of the bar, I can buy as many drinks as I want,  mate."  So...that is how we got those 10 dollar drinks for free!

This picture was taken for the Moskal's. Ally took a picture of the Uggs and the prices. Surprisingly they are more expensive in Aussie

Stick around for part 2!